How Tall Is Ser Duncan The Tall In A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms?

As soon as you lay eyes on Dunk (Peter Claffey) in the "Game of Thrones" prequel series "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," you notice how tall he is. A lowborn hedge knight with no prospects, Dunk roams the tourney grounds at Ashford to secure a benefactor and meets a string of curious characters along the way. It's hard to miss him in a crowd, which is why he's often at the receiving end of a "giant" joke or insult, though it's mostly his earnestness that draws folks towards him. But Dunk's towering height is also the only thing that sets him apart, which is why he takes on the moniker of Ser Duncan the Tall in the hopes of being taken more seriously.

Claffey, a former pro-rugby player, stands at six feet and five inches tall, which is the closest one can get to the character's canonical height in George R. R. Martin's "Dunk & Egg" novellas. In the source material, Dunk is an inch shy of seven feet tall, which makes him tower over, or at par with, the biggest warriors in the Seven Kingdoms (except for Gregor Clegane/The Mountain, who is nearly eight feet tall in the books). Series creator Ira Parker spoke to USA Today about the challenging casting process for Dunk, as only those over six feet five could apply for the role:

"We were looking for as tall as possible in that age range. The book character is 6-foot-11. After meeting Peter, it really couldn't have been anyone else. We were so lucky that he exists in this world [...] The only things Dunk has is size and his ability to just keep getting up after being knocked down. If that's not part of being a rugby player, I don't know what is."

Peter Claffey's Dunk inherits three horses from his hedge knight mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), and is often seen gently confiding in them. This sweet affinity makes sense, as Dunk only has these horses (along with Arlan's sword and shield) to call his own. Also, a knight isn't a knight without a horse, right? To that end, Claffey had to undergo rigorous training exercises with stunt horses that were huge in size (while still managing to tower over them). The actor praised the horse that plays Chesnut and spoke to USA Today about the training camp that was part of his preparation:

"And he's [Chestnut] a ridiculously well-trained horse. The stuff he can do is incredible [..] I've always wanted to learn to ride properly. They've turned me into a competent rider [...] Mine isn't as big as a war horse that would make Dunk look epic. But it is kind of endearing to look at Dunk being too big for his horse."

Indeed. Based on the premiere for the show, Dunk comes off as a sincere guy who is just trying to make ends meet, managing to charm people despite his lack of behavioral polish. His dynamic with the (apparent) stable boy Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) is poised to become the emotional center of the story, pointing to a more unconventional aspect of a heroic mantle that is traditionally associated with ruthless bravado. Dunk's height also comes with a visible awkwardness that can potentially be misinterpreted by brasher personalities, but it also makes space for unlikely friendships among those who treasure compassion and honesty.

New episodes of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" drop every Sunday on HBO.